Secular Kibbutzim are Rediscovering Jewish Prayer

“Hear our voice,
Hashem, our God,
spare us and have
compassion on us;
and accept – with
compassion and favor
– our prayers. Bring
us back to You,
Hashem, and we shall
return; renew our
days as of old.”
(From the
selichos -
prayers for
forgiveness)

Dear Friends,

I
have attached
excerpts from an
article about a new
development on
secular kibbutzim,
and these excerpts
will be followed by
my comments:

…………………….

Synagogues Flourish
in Secular Kibbutzim

Elul 6, 5769, 26
August 09 08:00

by Hillel Fendel

(Israelnationalnews.com)
A few years ago, a
member of Kibbutz
Deganiah predicted,
“There has been no
synagogue here in
100 years, and there
won’t be one in the
next 100 years.” She
was wrong.

Not only is there a
synagogue in
Deganiah, founded in
1910 as Israel's
first Kibbutz ever,
but similar houses
of worship
(popularly known as
“shuls”) are open
and active in other
secular kibbutzim in
the north such as
Ein Harod and Maoz
Chaim, as well as in
other secular
communities in the
region such as
Tomrat.

Another example of a
long shul-less
kibbutz is Givat
HaShloshah, founded
by a long-time
member who suddenly
realized that she
wanted to
commemorate her one
“Jewish” day of the
year – Yom Kippur –
at home. The woman
waged a one-person
campaign to gather
together a Torah
scroll, prayer
books, a building –
and now, a scant few
years later, some
15-20 people take
part in weekly
Sabbath prayers.

Just ten weeks ago,
at a joyous Torah
scroll installation
ceremony in the
famously-secular
Kibbutz Ein Harod,
the son of one of
the more active shul
“members” came
and asked him, “What
do you need a
synagogue for,
anyway?” The father
answered, “We went
far away – too far.”
The reference was to
the escape from
Torah Judaism by
many of the early
Zionist pioneers – a
vacuum that is now
once again being
filled with
spirituality.

The above story is
told by Rabbi Shlomo
Raanan, head of the
Ayelet HaShachar
(Morning Star)
association that -
among its many other
activities -
accompanies secular
communities that
wish to build a
synagogue or
otherwise enhance
their connection to
Judaism. Two years
ago, for instance,
more than 500
northern farmers
took part in a
“telephone chavruta
(study partner)”
program organized by
Ayelet HaShachar on
matters concerning
the Shemittah
(Sabbatical) year.

Though many
kibbutzim were
predicated on the
idea that no
synagogue would ever
be built there,
“today there are
those who feel that
there is a communal
need for a
synagogue,” Raanan
told B’Sheva’s
Ofrah Lax.

"First Time I Have
Felt Jewish"The founding of
the synagogue in
Kibbutz Maoz Chaim,
a bastion of
secularity since its
founding in 1937
just east of Beit
She’an, did not
happen without some
rancor. Only after
two votes of the
entire membership
was a building
approved for
designation as a
synagogue – and even
then, only by the
narrow margin of two
votes. Friday night
services are held
regularly, and the
members hope to
expand to Sabbath
morning services as
well.

The shul’s founder
told this story:
“One long-time
resident, a
78-year-old who
immigrated from
Argentina 40 years
ago, told me after
his first visit to
the synagogue, ‘I’ve
been in Israel all
these years, and
this was the first
time I felt Jewish.
I plan to come every
week, and I want you
to teach me the
prayers.’ I told him
that the whole thing
was worth it just
for that.”

"Just today," Rabbi
Raanan told
Israel National News
on Tuesday, "an eye
surgeon asked us for
help in starting a
synagogue in Barkan,
near Ariel. And we
are already at work
on Yom Kippur
prayers in kibbutzim
such as HaHotrim,
Hof HaCarmel, and
others that have
never had
synagogues."

…Another story told
by Raanan: “A few
years ago, I was in
Deganiah [Israel’s
first kibbutz], and
I asked where the
synagogue was. The
secretary told me,
‘For 100 years we
haven’t had one, and
we won't have one in
the next 100 years
either.’ Two years
ago, I was again in
Deganiah, on Simchat
Torah [the holiday
commemorating the
joy of Torah], and I
pointed to the
newly-opened
synagogue and said,
‘This is our true
Torah joy.’”

“The name of the
game,” says Raanan,
in between
organizing Torah
classes and other
programs for those
who have never
enjoyed them before,
“is patience and
tolerance. Each
place according to
its own pace and
requests.”

……………………………………

Last year, I shared
with you excerpts
from an article by
Yonoson Rosenblum in
the summer issue of
the Jewish Observer,
the magazine of
Agudath Israel of
America. The article
cited examples of
successful Torah
outreach in Israel,
and one of the
examples is a
Chareidi
organization named,
Ayelet HaShachar
(Morning Star),
which is mentioned
in the above
article. In addition
to helping the
kibbutzim to
establish
synagogues,
Ayelet HaShachar
has been placing
Torah-committed
couples on more than
60 kibbutzim and
smaller settlements
around the country.
Among the kibbutzim
which have benefited
from the warm and
dedicated outreach
of these couples is
Kibbutz Geva, which
experienced its
first Yom Kippur
service two years
ago. A member of the
kibbutz wrote a
thank you letter to
the director of
Ayelet HaShachar
expressing
appreciation “for
having created for
us a Mikdash
Me’at (Miniature
Sanctuary) in the
midst of our
everyday lives and
secular existence,
and for having made
it possible for us
to touch the
holiness, the
elevation, of this
unique day – Yom
Hakippurim.” The
kibbutz member adds:

“The emotions during
the prayers broke
down all barriers,
and enabled us to
touch every link in
the chain of our
common tradition,
reaching back to the
roots of our common
existence.”

Over two years ago,
I met a group of
students who had
recently graduated
secular Israeli high
schools. They had
come to my Chareidi
neighborhood, Bayit
Vegan, Jerusalem, in
order to experience
the holiness and
harmony of a
traditional Shabbos.
I first noticed them
at the Friday night
service of the
congregation where I
was praying that
night, and these
visiting students
joined with great
enthusiasm in the
singing of the
joyous psalms and
prayers welcoming
the arrival of the
Shabbos Queen. I
noticed one student
in this group who
was singing and
swaying like a
chassid, and his
light-filled face
expressed great
yearning as he sung
with great fervor
the ancient Hebrew
words of these
psalms and prayers.

As I watched him and
the other students,
there emerged
feelings of hope in
my heart. Their
presence in our
Jerusalem
neighborhood
reminded me of the
prophetic promises
that our people are
destined to be
reunited through a
return to our
spiritual roots. We
experienced a taste
of this unity that
Shabbos evening,
especially when we
all joined together
in a circle-dance,
as we sang the
concluding stanzas
of the “Lecho Dodi”
hymn which refer to
the end of our
humiliation in
exile, the renewal
of Zion, and the
rejoicing of God
with our people.

After the services
were over, the
students received
warm Shabbos
blessings from the
members of the
congregation. The
students then began
to walk to the homes
of their hosts for
the Friday night
meal. I and the
student that I
noticed earlier were
walking in the same
direction, and I
asked him where he
was from. He told me
that he was from a
HaShomer Hatza’ir
kibbutz in the north
and that he was very
inspired by our
services. (HaShomer
Hatza’ir is a
leftist kibbutz
movement.) He asked
me about my
background, so I
mentioned that I am
from the
spiritually-searching
generation of the
60’s. He told me
that he was
interested in this
searching
generation, and he
began to tell me
more about his own
spiritual searching
within Judaism;
however, our
conversation was
interrupted when he
needed to enter the
home of his hosts.

When I arrived home
that evening, I
asked Hashem to
continue to guide
this student and all
the other students
on their homecoming
journey. And I hoped
that I would have
the privilege of
meeting them again.

The above
information reminds
us that beneath the
surface of a
turbulent Israeli
society are currents
of spiritual
renewal. These
currents are a
reminder of the
following Divine
promise to Israel
regarding the dawn
of the messianic age
of spiritual
enlightenment:

“Never again will
your sun set, and
your moon will not
be withdrawn; for
Hashem will be unto
you an eternal
light, and the days
of your mourning
will be ended. Your
people will all be
righteous; they will
inherit the land
forever; a shoot of
My planting, My
handiwork in which
to glory.” (Isaiah
60:20, 21)

The above passage is
from the “haftorah”
– portion from the
Prophets – which we
chanted on this past
Shabbos. It is one
of the haftorahs of
comfort which are
chanted during the
period between Tisha
B’Av and Rosh
Hashana.